Stage 17 - Puerto Momotombo to Managua

 The Last Day Of Riding

I have mixed feelings about my last day of riding. I'm elated and, frankly, a little bit surprised that I actually managed to do this entire tour from my originally planned start to final destination. I'm also a little bit happy to be done with riding as well, although after a few days I know I could ride more. I'm also interested in how I will interpret all of these stories and experiences once I am no longer in the throes of the tour and having to figure myself out every day. I'm curious as well about what my next ambitious project will be, I guess I can't just go on new bike tours every month.

 

 

My morning ride out, with the volcano behind me 

With this in mind, I left early from Momotombo, very determined to reach Managua before the hottest part of the day.

The last 40 miles were not very hilly, but there was an intense headwind, that did not let up for one second the entire way. Some people told me this was the normal southern winds and they lasted for days on end. So much for an easy-going last ride. Also, since I had spent my last 200 cordoba on dinner last night, I did not have enough for breakfast. It was almost 20 miles until I came across a small town with a supermarket that accepted credit cards.

I made it through the rest of the ride with no issues and rode to the lakeside of Managua. It looked interesting on the map, although there were no commercial spots around. It is the seat of the government, with monuments to communist revolutionaries such as Hugo Chavez and Che Guevara. Venezuelan flags flew along the boardwalk in between giant metallic cartoonishly colored trees, nicknamed "Los Arboles de Vida" or "The Trees of Life".

 

 

The trees of life at the lakeside. The trees are actually found all over the city. Of the people I talked to about them, the consensus seemed to be that they are a giant waste of money.

 

 

Hugo Chavez Roundabout 

 

Statue of the Nicaraguan Communist Worker's Party. The common symbol is a rifle in one hand and a farming tool in the other. The inscription reads "Only the workers and peasants will make it to the end."

 

In front of the National Palace

I reveled in my accomplishment for a few minutes and admired the view over the lake and observed some of the monuments. Then I checked my phone to find some lodging. I have a host for Friday and Saturday nights (I fly out Sunday), but he was out of town for work and would not be back until late in the evening, a bit too late to meet up. I found a place that was closer to some more commercial areas - I figured I could already start trying to look for a bike box in order to bring my bike back with me on the plane.

I checked into the hotel and showered off the last couple of days of riding and the mediocre lake bath and felt brand new. The hotel owner directed me to a nearby mall to inquire about a bike box. This was a very American-style mall. About 80% of the stores seemed to be shoe stores. There was also a food court with a Buffalo Wings restaurant on one side and a Carl's Jr. on the other. Apparently this was a hot spot in town. Buses dropped people off in a steady stream and in the evening, women and men dressed up in cocktail dresses and button-down shirts to have drinks and ice cream at the food court. I wandered around to a couple stores that actually had bicycles on display. But they seemed confused when I asked about a bike box, I'm not sure how their bikes were assembled, but I guess it was not done at their store. I received some suggestions about where to look, but it was after 5PM and everything was closed. I wandered around the neighborhood and got some dinner before going back to the hotel to sleep.